Briquetting machine



May 1e, 195o G. CREA 2,507,491

BRIQUETTING MACHINE Filed Jzu'x'u 29, 1946 mayb@ 595W nventor Gttorneg nular groove 20 of the rotary slide-head co-acting with two radially disposed pins or studs 2l, 2l, threaded in the cylindrical Wall of the recess I4 of the non-rotary slide head, This coupling, it will be obvious, provides for a reciprocating movement of the coupled heads, and also permits a rotary movement of the rotary slide-head with relation to the non-rotary slide head.

For revolving or rotating the rotary slide head a comparatively long driven gear is mounted thereon, and as indicated in the drawings this driven gear may be a gear ring 212 fixed or fastened in any suitable manner.

The cutting head il' is rigidly mounted on the forward end of the rotary slide-head by means of a shank 24 inserted in a socket of the rotary slide head, and secured by a transverse pin 25, in order that the cutting head may be replaced if and when necessary.

The cutting head Il, in addition to performing the functions of a presser against the material, also cuts and disintegrates the bulk of straw material as it is fed through the port 4 into the compression chamber. For this purpose the cutting head is fashioned with a sharp cutting edge 26, of arcuate shape, that projects forwardly from the front face of the cutting head a sufficient distance, so that the straw, after being broken by the breakers or beaters 5 in the hopper, is further comminuted by the cutting head.

Thus the long straws are initially broken and then rammed through the port into the compression chamber, and then these broken straws are cut into short lengths to facilitate compression of the material into solid briquettes.

As the broken straws are rammed from the hopper, through the port, into the compression chamber, the (go-acting plunger reciprocating longitudinally, and the rotary cutting head moving as part of the plunger, cuts the infeeding material and compressed material, luntil the successive strokes of the plunger have compressed a sufficient quantity of material to form the desired briquette.

The briquette, or compressed solid cylinder fashioned by the press, may be of varied lengths depending upon the purpose desired, and suitable means may be employed for severing the product into desired lengths after the compacted article emerges from the press.

For transmitting, power to operate the press a driven crank shaft 21 is shown journalled in bearings 28 of the machine bed, and the crank shaft is connected to the reciprocating plunger by the pitman 29 coupled at 3B to the rear end of the plunger.

A pair of balance wheels or y wheels 3l, 3i', rigid with the crank shaft facilitates the translation of rotary movement to reciprocating movement o-f the plunger, and the fly wheel 3l may be equipped with a driving pulley 32 driven by a belt, from a suitable source of power, not shoum.

For imparting rotary movement to the rotary portion of the reciprocating plunger, a countershaft 33 is journalled in bearings 34 at one side of the axial center of the press, and a bevel pinion 35 on the rear end of the countershaft receives power from the complementary gear ring 3E of the ny wheel 3|.

Power from the countershaft is transmitted through a gear wheel 3'? rigid with the shaft to the gear ring 22 of the rotary plunger-portion, and a lateral opening is provided at 38 in the wall of the cylinder for meshing action of the gear wheel and gear ring.

The driven pulley 8 of the feeding crank shaft 6 is also driven from the countershaft 33 through a belt drive, the drive pulley being indicated at 39 in Figure 2, with a belt 40 shown as passing around the two pulleys 8 and 39.

As indicated in Figure 1, the knife edge 26 of the cutting head of the plunger serves to cut, with a shearing action, the bulk of material as it is fed through the port 4, and the advancing plunger, on its successive strokes, intermittently compresses successive charges of the comminuted material. On the rear stroke of the plunger the port is again uncovered and opened to permit injection of another charge of material from the hopper into the compression chamber, and these successive charges are successively compressed to form the briquette, or a solid bar of the material, as the case may be. The generation of heat, caused by friction of the operating plunger within the compression chamber, is utilized in the formation of the briquette, and any excess heat is conveyed from the cooling jacket by lthe water circulation system.

Having thus fully described my invention what; I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The combination in a press of the reciprocating type and including a compression chamber, of a reciprocating plunger mounted to reciprocate in said chamber and operating means therefor, means for feeding material into the chamber, a rotary compressing-head rotatably mounted on the plunger, and a cutting edge projecting from the front face of the compressing head.

2. The combination in a press including a cornpression chamber, a feed hopper having a port open to said chamber, and ramming means for conveying material from the hopper through the port, of a reciprocating plunger mounted to reciprocate in said chamber and operating means therefor, a rotary compressor head rotatably mounted on the plunger and means for rotating said head, and a cutting edge projecting from the front face of the compressor head.

3. The combination in a pressincluding a compression chamber, a feed hopper having a port open to said chamber, and means for feeding material from the hopper through the port, of a plunger reciprocable in the chamber and operating means therefor, said plunger including a rotary head having a front cutting edge, a gear ring rigid with the rotary head, a driving gear meshing with the gear ring, and means for rotating the driving gear.

4. The combination in a press having a compression chamber, a reciprocable plunger mounted to reciprocate in said chamber having a rotary presser head mounted thereon, and operating means for the plunger, of a feed hopper having a port open to the chamber through which the material to be compressed is led to the chamber, and power transmission mechanism between the operating means and said rotary presser head operable to rotate the presser head.

5. In a reciprocable Dress including a compression chamber, the combination therewith of a plunger mounted to reciprocate in said chamber having a non-rotary slide-head and operating means connected therewith, a rotary slide head, a longitudinal coupling and a rotary bearing joint between said slide-heads, a presser head mounted on the rotary slide head, a cutting edge fashioned at the front of the presser head, and coacting transmission means between the rotary slide-head and said operating means for rotating the rotary slide head.

6. In a reciprocable press including a compression chamber, the combination therewith of a plunger having a non-rotary slide-head and operating means connected therewith, a rotary slide head having an exterior annular groove, a pair of coupling pins radially mounted in the slide head and located in said groove, a rotary bearing between adjoining ends of said heads, co-acting transmission means between said rotary slidehead and said operating means, a removable pressor head xed in the front end of the rotary slidehead, and a cutting edge projecting forwardly from the face of the rotary slide-head.

'7. In a reciprocable press including a compression chamber, the combination therewith of a plunger having a non-rotary slide head having a thrust-bearing seat and a socket-recess, and operating means for said slide-head, a rotary slide head having a thrust bearing seat and a bearing ball between said seats, la pair of radially arranged coupling pins mounted in the lwall of said recess and co-acting with an annular groove in the rotary slide-head, an elongated gear ring mounted on the rotary slide-head and power transmission means between said gear ring and said operating means, a removable presser head fixed in the front of the rotary slide head, and a cutting edge projecting forwardly from the front face of s-aid presser head.

GEORGE J. CREA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,498,373 Harvey June 17, 1924 1,749,375 Dahl Mar. 4, 1930 2,128,241 Goss Aug. 30, 1938 2,296,516 Goss Sept. 22, 1942 

